I missed it.:biglaugh: (I thought you were serious)
Lean manufacturing is a double edged sword. Yes it saves a company, but it cut a lot of jobs at the same time. That is why it didn’t take off in the US to begin with. The unions wouldn’t allow human labor to be cut. Now they don’t have a choice.
Or how about the fact that Toyota operates without unions in their US plants and don’t have to deal with all the crap that GM is dealing with, which also helped lean manuf.
Read my other post about UAW costs.
Rumor has it, cars are soon to be made in Russia and China for super low cost
its not a rumor, its a fact.
there was a post a few months ago about it, and their awesome crash test results.
I didn’t see that coming :bloated:
kinda related…i was watching the autoshow thing that they had on abc (or was it nbc?) yesterday at like noon…they opened up with this statement about how the american public was concerned with gas prices which american automakers were gonna focus on that… but i couldn’t help but notice that pretty much every car they kept showing, was getting terrible gas mileage, while most of the imports were the ones getting the great gas mileage people are wanting. its like they know what they have to do, but they keep missing the boat. suv’s just keep getting bigger and heavier and more powerful, yea thats a great way to get more gas mileage :gotme:
I remember years ago in Canada they used to drive Russian Ladas.
The Lada looked like it was painted with Rust-o-leum.
It was during the cold War so we didn’t have them in the US.
Yeah, I’m old.
Don’t forget the Chinese cars will be here later this year!
I wonder how Ford’s plant in China is progressing.
I m kind of curios to find out how many little kids fingers are gonna be in the new cars.
cough;childslavelabor;cough
Speaking of Chinese cars coming to the US, my bro read somewhere that the original plan was to import super cheap, stripped down models but they decided that they could load up the cars with options for very little cost.
Think about it, they could build every option you can think of for about $99 then mark up the price by $10000 and still be half the cost of the competition.
Evidently one of the first cars that is going to be available in the US from China is going to be under $10k. Don’t know what the quality is like but thats crazy cheap.
The thing about super cheap cars is you don’t need them to last long.
If you pay $5000-$10000 for a car who cares how long it lasts?
You will lose $5000-$10,000 depreciation on other cars quite quickly so you keep driving them for years.
Think about it, you could drive a new(Chinese) car every year.:biglaugh:
if they last 5 maybe 7 years, its totally worth it… depending on the warrenty. and i am sure that with how cheap they are to build they will offer a crazy warrenty.
Good point, when you have a giant mark-up it is like a built in warranty that you are paying for.
When something goes wrong they may just give you a new car.:biglaugh:
i can see it now
you dont need to change the oil, they just give you a new car
Disposable cars. That was actually something quoted as a plan for Ford in the next coming years.
It will be like the propane tank exchange program.:biglaugh:
President Bush is a NASCAR fan, but that doesn’t mean he’s ready to help Chevy and Ford out of their troubles.
Bush Says Government Won’t Bail GM or Ford
Written by: News WireFollowing GM’s announcement that its posted a staggering $4.8 billion loss in the fourth quarter of 2005, President George W. Bush revealed in an interview with The Wall Street Journal that the Federal government does not plan to bail either GM or Ford out of their financial difficulties. Both companies recently announced comprehensive restructuring programs that will include the layoff of a total of 60,000 employees (30,000 by each).
“I haven’t been asked by any automobile manufacturer about a bailout,” the President said. In 1979, the Jimmy Carter administration prevented the bankruptcy of Chrysler Corporation by grating a $1.5 billion loan to the then-ailing group.
“That’s not how the market works,” added Bush, who said that GM and Ford should seek to develop “product that’s relevant” to consumers.
GM’s yearly losses totaled $8.6 billion, the company’s worst result since 1992.